BEIJING, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) --  The 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China concluded its  fourth plenary session on Thursday in Beijing with a communique issued.

The following is the full text of the communique:

Communique of the Fourth Plenary Session of

the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China

Adopted at the fourth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of

the Communist Party of China on October 23, 2025

The 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of  China (CPC) convened its fourth plenary session in Beijing from October  20 to 23, 2025.

A total of 168 members and 147 alternate members of  the Central Committee attended the session. Members of the Standing  Committee of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and  leading officials from other relevant departments were present at the  meeting in a non-voting capacity. Some of our primary-level colleagues  and a number of experts and scholars who served as delegates to the 20th  National Party Congress also attended the meeting in a non-voting  capacity.

The Political Bureau of the Central Committee  presided over the meeting. Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Central  Committee, delivered important addresses.

Participants at the session listened to and discussed  a report on the work of the Political Bureau, presented on its behalf  by Xi Jinping. They also deliberated over and adopted the  Recommendations of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China  for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social  Development. Xi Jinping made explanatory remarks on the draft  recommendations.

At the session, the Central Committee fully affirmed  the work of the Political Bureau since the third plenary session of the  20th Central Committee. It was unanimously agreed that the Political  Bureau has secured notable progress in the following respects: earnestly  implementing the guiding principles from the Party's 20th National  Congress and the plenary sessions of the 20th Central Committee;  adhering to the general principle of pursuing progress while ensuring  stability; fully and faithfully applying the new development philosophy  on all fronts; implementing the Five-Sphere Integrated Plan and the  Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy in a coordinated way; balancing  domestic and international imperatives; ensuring both development and  security; further deepening reform comprehensively; delivering tangible  results in high-quality development; advancing socialist democracy and  rule of law; improving public communication and cultural work; ensuring  the people's wellbeing and protecting the environment; safeguarding  national security and social stability; launching a study campaign for  fully implementing the central Party leadership's eight-point decision  on improving work conduct and further strengthening full and rigorous  Party self-governance; modernizing national defense and the armed  forces; carrying out work related to Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan;  pursuing major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics; and  promoting sustained economic recovery and growth. As a result of these  efforts, China is now on the verge of accomplishing the major objectives  and tasks of the 14th Five-Year Plan. It was also noted that we had  recently commemorated the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese  People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World  Anti-Fascist War. This occasion has greatly lifted the national spirit,  inspired a strong sense of patriotism among our people, and further  pooled strength for our country's collective endeavors.

Participants at the session gave a positive  assessment of China's major development achievements during the 14th  Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), which has marked a momentous and  extraordinary period in our country's development. In the face of a  complicated international landscape and the challenging domestic tasks  of advancing reform, promoting development, and ensuring stability, the  CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has united the  entire Party and Chinese people of all ethnic groups and led them in  meeting difficulties head-on and forging ahead with determination. This  has allowed us to withstand the severe shocks from a once-in-a-century  Covid-19 pandemic, respond effectively to many major risks and  challenges, and secure significant new achievements in the cause of the  Party and the country. With China reaching new heights in terms of  economic strength, scientific and technological capabilities, and  composite national strength, we have made solid new strides in advancing  Chinese modernization and gotten off to a successful start on our new  journey toward the Second Centenary Goal.

It was pointed out that socialist modernization can  only be realized through a historical process of gradual and ongoing  development. It requires the unremitting hard work of one generation  after another. The period covered by the 15th Five-Year Plan will be  critical in this process as we work to reinforce the foundations and  push ahead on all fronts toward basically achieving socialist  modernization by 2035. It will thus serve as a key link between the past  and the future. In this period, China's development environment will  face profound and intricate changes.

At present, China remains in a phase of development  where strategic opportunities exist alongside risks and challenges,  while uncertainties and unforeseen factors are rising. Our economy is on  solid foundations, demonstrating advantages in many areas, strong  resilience, and great potential. The conditions and underlying trends  supporting long-term growth remain unchanged. More and more, we are  seeing the strengths of socialism with Chinese characteristics, China's  enormous market, its complete industrial system, and its abundant human  resources all coming to the fore.

All of us in the Party must acquire a deep  understanding of the decisive significance of establishing Comrade Xi  Jinping's core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party  as a whole and of establishing the guiding role of Xi Jinping Thought on  Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era; become more  conscious of the need to maintain political integrity, think in  big-picture terms, follow the leadership core, and keep in alignment  with the central Party leadership; stay confident in the path, theory,  system, and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics; and  uphold Comrade Xi Jinping's core position on the Party Central Committee  and in the Party as a whole and uphold the Central Committee's  authority and its centralized, unified leadership.

We must maintain strategic resolve and enhance our  confidence of success. We must proactively identify, respond to, and  steer changes, demonstrate the courage and competence to carry forward  our struggle, and dare to brave high winds, choppy waters, and even  dangerous storms. We must seize the historical initiative to overcome  difficulties, combat risks, and confront challenges, focus on managing  our own affairs, and write yet another chapter on the miracles of rapid  economic growth and long-term social stability, opening up new horizons  for Chinese modernization.

It was stressed that in pursuing economic and social  development during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, we must stay  committed to Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory,  the Theory of Three Represents, and the Scientific Outlook on  Development, and fully implement Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with  Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. We must thoroughly apply the  guiding principles from the Party's 20th National Congress and the  plenary sessions of the 20th Central Committee.

To move toward the Second Centenary Goal of building  China into a great modern socialist country in all respects and advance  the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through Chinese  modernization, we must implement the Five-Sphere Integrated Plan and the  Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy in a coordinated way. Keeping in  mind both domestic and international imperatives, we must fully and  faithfully apply the new development philosophy on all fronts, move  faster to create a new pattern of development, and adhere to the general  principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability.

We must continue to pursue economic development as  our central task, with high-quality development as our main focus,  reform and innovation as the fundamental driving force, meeting the  people's ever-growing needs for a better life as our fundamental goal,  and full and rigorous Party self-governance as the fundamental  underpinning for all our efforts. We must promote higher-quality  economic growth while achieving an appropriate increase in economic  output and make solid headway in promoting well-rounded personal  development and common prosperity for all. All of this will allow us to  secure decisive progress toward basically achieving socialist  modernization.

At the session, the Central Committee established the  following guiding principles for economic and social development during  the 15th Five-Year Plan period: upholding the Party's overall  leadership; putting the people first; pursuing high-quality development;  comprehensively deepening reform; promoting interplay between an  efficient market and a well-functioning government; and ensuring both  development and security.

The Central Committee also set the following major  objectives for the 15th Five-Year Plan period: significant achievements  in high-quality development; substantial improvements in scientific and  technological self-reliance and strength; fresh breakthroughs in further  deepening reform comprehensively; notable cultural and ethical progress  across society; further improvements in quality of life; major new  strides in advancing the Beautiful China Initiative; and further  advances in strengthening the national security shield. Building on  this, we will work hard for a further five years to see that by the year  2035 China's economic strength, scientific and technological  capabilities, national defense capabilities, composite national  strength, and international influence will all be markedly stronger,  that its per capita GDP will be on a par with that of a mid-level  developed country, that its people will live better and happier lives,  and that socialist modernization will be basically realized.

It was noted that we should build a modernized  industrial system and reinforce the foundations of the real economy. To  this end, we should keep our focus on the real economy, continue to  pursue smart, green, and integrated development, and work faster to  boost China's strength in manufacturing, product quality, aerospace,  transportation, and cyberspace. The share of manufacturing in the  national economy should be kept at an appropriate level, and a  modernized industrial system should be developed with advanced  manufacturing as the backbone. We should upgrade traditional industries,  foster emerging industries and industries of the future, promote  high-quality, efficient development in the service sector, and develop a  modernized infrastructure system.

It was stated that we should achieve greater  self-reliance and strength in science and technology and steer the  development of new quality productive forces. We must seize the historic  opportunity presented by the new round of technological revolution and  industrial transformation to boost China's strength in education,  science and technology, and human resources in a well-coordinated  manner. We should enhance the overall performance of China's innovation  system, raise our innovation capacity across the board, strive to take a  leading position in scientific and technological development, and keep  fostering new quality productive forces. We should promote advances in  original innovation and breakthroughs in core technologies in key  fields, facilitate full integration between technological and industrial  innovation, pursue integrated development of education, science and  technology, and talent, and advance the Digital China Initiative.

It was noted that we should build a robust domestic  market and work faster to foster a new pattern of development. Guided by  the strategy of expanding domestic demand, we should work toward  improving living standards while increasing consumer spending and  coordinate investments in physical assets and human capital. We should  see that new demand drives new supply, that new supply helps create  fresh demand, and that positive interactions are fostered between  consumption and investment and between supply and demand. All this will  help enhance the dynamism and reliability of the domestic economy. To  this end, we should boost consumption, expand effective investment, and  eliminate bottlenecks and obstacles hindering the development of a  unified national market.

It was stated that we should move faster to develop a  high-standard socialist market economy and boost the momentum for  high-quality development. We should uphold and improve China's basic  socialist economic systems, better leverage the leading role of economic  structural reform, and improve the macroeconomic governance system.  This will help ensure steady and sustained progress in high-quality  development. We should stimulate the vitality of all market entities,  work faster to improve the institutions and mechanisms for market-based  allocation of production factors, and make macroeconomic governance more  effective.

It was also stated that we should promote  high-standard opening up and create new horizons for mutually beneficial  cooperation. We should continue to expand opening up at the  institutional level, safeguard the multilateral trading system, and  promote broader international economic flows. We should advance reform  and development through greater openness and seek to share opportunities  and achieve common development with the rest of the world. We should  take the initiative to open China wider, promote the innovative  development of trade, create greater space for two-way investment  cooperation, and pursue high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

It was noted that we should accelerate agricultural  and rural modernization and take solid steps to advance all-around rural  revitalization. We must continue to place issues related to  agriculture, rural areas, and rural residents at the top of our Party's  work agenda. We need to promote integrated urban-rural development,  continue to consolidate and expand our achievements in poverty  alleviation, basically ensure modern living conditions in rural areas,  and secure faster progress in building up China's strength in  agriculture. We should enhance the overall production capacity, quality,  and performance of agriculture, build a beautiful and harmonious  countryside for people to live and work in, and ensure that policies  aimed at strengthening agriculture, benefiting farmers, and achieving  rural prosperity deliver greater outcomes.

It was stated that we should refine China's regional  economic layout and promote coordinated regional development. We should  give full play to the synergies between the coordinated regional  development strategy, major regional strategies, the functional zoning  strategy, and the new urbanization strategy, improve the distribution of  major productive forces, and ensure that key regions play their role as  growth poles. Our goal is to develop a regional economic layout and a  territorial space system that enable regions to leverage their  complementary strengths in pursuit of high-quality development. We  should promote more coordinated regional development, boost  interconnected development between regions, improve the development of  territorial space, move forward with people-centered new urbanization,  and strengthen marine development, utilization, and protection.

It was noted that we should inspire the cultural  creativity of our entire nation and foster a thriving socialist culture.  We must uphold the guiding role of Marxism in the ideological domain,  remain firmly rooted in the broad and rich Chinese culture, and follow  the trends of information technology. On this basis, we should develop a  socialist culture with Chinese characteristics for the new era that has  the power to guide, unite, and inspire our people and enjoys strong  international influence. Tangible steps should be taken to build China  into a country with a strong culture. We should promote and put into  practice the core socialist values, make effective moves to boost  cultural programs, accelerate the development of cultural industries,  and extend the reach and appeal of Chinese civilization.

It was stated that we should work harder to ensure  and improve public wellbeing and promote common prosperity for all. In  line with the principle of doing everything within our means, we must  ensure that public services are inclusive, meet essential needs, and  provide a cushion for those most in need, while working to resolve the  pressing difficulties and problems that concern the people most. The  channels of social mobility should remain unimpeded, and living  standards should be further improved. We should promote high-quality and  full employment, refine the income distribution system, develop  education that meets the people's expectations, improve the social  security system, and facilitate high-quality development of the real  estate sector. We should also work to advance the Healthy China  Initiative, promote high-quality population development, and take solid  steps to ensure equitable access to basic public services.

It was pointed out that we should accelerate the  green transition in all areas of economic and social development in an  effort to build a Beautiful China. We must unwaveringly uphold the  principle that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets and  put it into concrete action. Guided by our goals of achieving peak  carbon and carbon neutrality, we should make concerted efforts to cut  carbon emissions, reduce pollution, pursue green development, and boost  economic growth. We must reinforce our ecological security shields and  strengthen our green development drivers. We should press ahead with the  critical battle against pollution and the drive to upgrade ecosystems,  move faster to develop a new energy system, work actively and prudently  toward peak carbon emissions, and accelerate the shift to eco-friendly  production practices and lifestyles.

It was noted that we should modernize China's  national security system and capacity and advance the Peaceful China  Initiative to a higher level. We must remain steadfast in pursuing a  holistic approach to national security and follow a socialist path of  social governance with Chinese characteristics to ensure that our  society is both full of vitality and in good order. We should establish a  sound national security system, build up national security capacity in  key sectors, enhance public safety governance, and improve the social  governance system.

It was also noted that we should work to achieve the  centenary goals of the People's Liberation Army on schedule and  modernize national defense and the armed forces. We should act on Xi  Jinping Thought on Strengthening the Military and carry out the military  strategy for the new era. We must ensure that the Party exercises  absolute leadership over the people's armed forces, and the system of  ultimate responsibility resting with the chairman of the Central  Military Commission must be implemented. We are pursuing the new,  three-step strategy for modernizing national defense and the armed  forces. On this basis, we should continue to enhance political loyalty  in the military, strengthen the military through reform, scientific and  technological advances, and personnel training, and run the military in  accordance with the law. We should simultaneously carry out operations,  boost combat preparedness, and enhance military capabilities, and  accelerate integrated military development through mechanization,  informatization, and the application of smart technologies. All this  will enhance our military's strategic capacity to defend our national  sovereignty, security, and development interests. We should speed up the  development of advanced combat capabilities, modernize military  governance, and consolidate and improve integrated national strategies  and strategic capabilities.

It was stressed that the whole Party and all Chinese  people should be united in a concerted endeavor to fulfill the 15th  Five-Year Plan. We must use the Party's self-reform to steer social  reform and stay committed to strengthening full and rigorous Party  self-governance. We should see to it that our Party becomes better at  providing political leadership and theoretical guidance, organizing the  people, and inspiring society, while also improving its ability to lead  China's economic and social development endeavors. All this will enable  us to gather a mighty force for advancing Chinese modernization. We must  uphold and strengthen the Party Central Committee's centralized,  unified leadership, advance socialist democracy and rule of law, and  fully mobilize the initiative, enthusiasm, and creativity of the whole  society to advance Chinese modernization. We should work for long-term  prosperity and stability in Hong Kong and Macao, promote the peaceful  development of relations across the Taiwan Strait and advance the cause  of national reunification, and secure further progress in building a  community with a shared future for humanity.

It was pointed out that studying and implementing the  guiding principles from this plenary session represent a major  political task for the entire Party and nation both at present and in  the period to come. We must employ a variety of means to organize study  activities, instruction lectures, and communication initiatives, so as  to make sure that the whole Party and society acquire a thorough  understanding of the session's guiding principles. In effectively  implementing these principles, we must stay firmly committed to  high-quality development, step up efforts to foster a new development  pattern, make solid strides toward delivering common prosperity for all,  better ensure both development and security, and coordinate our  economic development endeavors with work in all other spheres. This will  ensure that we lay a solid foundation for basically realizing socialist  modernization.

It was stressed that to run the country well, we must  first run the Party well; only a Party that is thriving can make our  country strong. The more effective our Party is in supervising and  governing itself, the better it will be able to provide guarantees for  our economic and social development. We must have the resolve and  tenacity to persist in the always ongoing endeavor of Party  self-governance. In exercising full and rigorous self-governance, we  must firmly act on the Party's requirements for self-reform, devote  sustained and consistent efforts to improving conduct, and combat  corruption resolutely, thereby providing a strong guarantee for  fulfilling the major objectives for economic and social development in  the 15th Five-Year Plan period.

Participants at the session carried out an analysis  of the present situation and the tasks we face. It was highlighted that  we must remain firmly focused on accomplishing this year's targets for  economic and social development. To this end, we must continue to  implement the decisions and plans of the Central Committee through  targeted efforts. We must work to stabilize employment, enterprise  operations, markets, and expectations and keep the fundamentals of the  economy stable, so as to consolidate and strengthen the momentum for  economic recovery and growth. We should ensure that our macro policies  continue to play an effective role and intensify their implementation as  necessary. We should fully implement assistance policies for  enterprises, press ahead with special initiatives to boost consumption,  guarantee the three priorities including people's basic wellbeing,  payment of salaries, and normal government functioning at the primary  level, and defuse local government debt risks through active and prudent  measures.

It was noted that we should take concrete steps to  safeguard the people's wellbeing and unlock potential through multiple  channels. We should devote greater efforts to stabilizing and expanding  employment, while promoting stable employment for key groups. We should  ramp up efforts to address wage arrears, improve basic public services,  and work harder to resolve the pressing difficulties and problems that  concern the people most. We must do a good job in post-disaster recovery  and reconstruction. Appropriate arrangements should be made for  disaster victims to ensure that their basic living needs are met and  that they have warm shelter for the winter.

It was emphasized that we must ensure workplace  safety and safeguard stability. We must make sure that all  responsibilities concerning workplace safety are fulfilled and that  oversight systems are rigorously implemented, and we must work with firm  resolve to prevent and mitigate major and serious accidents. We should  strengthen whole-of-chain supervision and administration of food and  drug safety. We should intensify efforts to investigate and resolve  disputes and conflicts, take a holistic approach to ensuring law and  order, and crack down on illegal and criminal activities of all types in  accordance with the law. Furthermore, we should improve public opinion  guidance and effectively prevent and defuse risks in the ideological  domain.

At the session, Zhang Shengmin was added to the Central Military Commission as Vice Chairman.

It was decided that, in accordance with the Party  Constitution, empty seats on the Central Committee will be filled by  alternate members Yu Huiwen, Ma Hancheng, Wang Jian, Wang Xi, Wang  Yonghong, Wang Tingkai, Wang Xinwei, Wei Tao, Deng Yiwu, Deng Xiuming,  and Lu Hong.

At the session, the Central Commission for Discipline  Inspection's report on the grave violations of Party discipline and  state laws involving Tang Renjian, Jin Xiangjun, Li Shisong, Yang Fasen,  and Zhu Zhisong was deliberated and adopted. The Central Military  Commission's inspection report on the grave violations of Party  discipline and state laws involving He Weidong, Miao Hua, He Hongjun,  Wang Xiubin, Lin Xiangyang, Qin Shutong, Yuan Huazhi, Wang Chunning, and  Zhang Fengzhong was also deliberated and adopted. The Political  Bureau's previous decision to expel these people from the Party was  confirmed.

At the session, a call was issued to the whole Party,  the entire military, and Chinese people of all ethnic groups to rally  more closely around the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping  at its core, work hard together toward the goal of basically realizing  socialist modernization, and continue to break new ground in building a  great country and advancing national rejuvenation on all fronts through  Chinese modernization. ■